


tangerine nights make pretty memories

by revengeavenue



Category: The Smiths
Genre: Fluff, M/M, it almost gets spooky but then it doesn't, so sweet it might rot your teeth, soft and happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-28
Updated: 2016-12-28
Packaged: 2018-09-12 18:47:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9085219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/revengeavenue/pseuds/revengeavenue
Summary: A summer night; where everything was sweet, including Johnny's lips.





	

The road had felt endless that night, with the windows of Johnny's car all the way down so they allowed the cool night air in. Morrissey loved summer nights, for the days were simply too humid to enjoy. The nights, however, were magical - the darkness brought new life to his senses. It seemed that when the sun went down, he felt much better.

Wildflowers on the side of the road were in full bloom, unraveling in varying hues of blue and yellow. Morrissey caught sight of the flowers as the headlights shown brightly on them for a split second, until they were left in darkness once more. They were so beautiful that he almost wanted to pick them, but that would result in killing them. He wasn't so fond of killing life for no reason.

As Johnny drove along the winding country road, Morrissey sat back and enjoyed the feeling of the air flowing through the window. Normally, he would hate it, because it messed up his hair. It was different this time; he found that he didn't care. It was difficult to care when everything felt blissfully calm, so he relaxed in the passenger seat and took deep breaths - in and out.

Johnny had ditched his sunglasses that he hardly ever took off, since it was too dark to wear them. Morrissey noticed eventually, and as he stole glances at him, he realized just how pretty Johnny was. That was nothing new, of course, but it struck him in such a way that he couldn't stop looking at him. The lights from the dashboard of the car softly illuminated his face in shades of red, and it seemed to dance upon his cheeks.

And Morrissey kept staring; completely and utterly far away in his mind. There was so much stimuli in those moments: the dark sky spotted with dull stars, all the flowers they drove by, the night air coming through the open windows, and Johnny's unawareness of his own beauty. Morrissey was entranced by everything happening around him.

"I can feel you staring at me." Johnny's voice took him by surprise, and his heart sunk in his chest.

Morrissey's voice got caught in his throat. "I... sorry." He then looked away, but in doing so, he missed the growing smile on Johnny's face.

"It's fine," he replied. He almost turned his head and looked at him, but he quickly realized that doing such a thing would end terribly. "It looks like it's about to rain, do you still wanna go to that cemetery?"

"Yes, of course. I don't care if it rains, I think that would make it better," Morrissey spoke while directing his attention elsewhere, anywhere but at Johnny. He had already stared at him enough for that night.

Johnny nodded, desperately wanting to steal a glance at Morrissey. He could see in his peripheral vision that he was looking out the window again, and not at him anymore.

The rest of the car ride was quiet - the only sound being the crickets outside and the whipping sound of the wind in their ears. Morrissey leaned against the car door, resting his head and looking up at the stars. Sometimes he wished that he could see more of them; there simply wasn't enough of them. He closed his eyes for a bit and let his mind wander.

When Morrissey heard Johnny turn the car off, he opened his eyes and sat up. They were in the driveway of the abandoned cemetery and church they loved to visit. They had never been there at nighttime before, and the place was said to be haunted, so he was just a little bit frightened. At least he wouldn't be on his own.

"It feels so weird to be here at night," Johnny said as he got out of the car. Morrissey soon followed, and he immediately stuck to Johnny's side.

Morrissey felt their bare arms brush against each other, heart skipping a beat. "It does."

They began walking up the pathway to the front door of the church; it was once paved and kept clean, but now it was covered with overgrown weeds and vines. Morrissey almost tripped over them, and Johnny just chuckled and grabbed his wrist. Luckily, it was dark enough that Morrissey's pink tinted cheeks went unseen.

When they made it to the rounded steps of the church, Johnny let go of Morrissey's wrist and sat down on the second step. He patted the space next to him and smiled at his friend, to which Morrissey complied. The step was small, but it was definitely large enough to fit the both of them without them needing to be touching. He may have been a bit too close to Johnny after all, because their sides were flush together; from their shoulders to their ankles.

Johnny could sense that he was jumpy, so to relax him, he set his hand on top of Morrissey's hand and curled his fingers around it. "Are you okay?" he found himself asking.

"Um, yeah... little scared, that's all." If Morrissey got any closer to Johnny, he would be on top of him.

"Do you want to go?" Johnny asked.

"No, no. I want to stay," Morrissey countered, voice soft as he focused on Johnny's hand wrapped around his. His touch was incredibly gentle, and Morrissey felt his heart swell in his chest. Perhaps he could die right there - at least he would die happy.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the stillness of the night. There were no houses in sight, except for one that looked as old as some of the defaced tombstones that protruded out of the tall grass. The wind picked up, and slowly, the calm aura of the place turned into a creepy one. They heard rustling in the darkness of the forest a couple hundred feet away.

"Shit, what was that?" Johnny held onto Morrissey's hand even tighter. He wasn't scared before, but now he was.

Morrissey visibly shuddered, "I don't know, maybe an animal or something. Do you think we should go?"

Johnny paused, as if he was listening for more. No more strange sounds came, only the rustling of the wind in the trees was heard. "I think we should, so we don't get eaten alive out here by something."

"Please don't put that image in my head," Morrissey begged as they got up from the step.

"Sorry," Johnny laughed, and hearing the sound made Morrissey feel safe.

They went back down the pathway quickly and carefully. This time, Morrissey made sure he wouldn't stumble over the vines. Johnny lead the way, tugging him along with their hands still clasped tightly together. When they finally made it back to the car, Morrissey found himself standing directly in front of Johnny, instead of going over to the other side of the car. Their hands were still together, but he soon let go.

Johnny stared up at Morrissey, watching his kind eyes bore into his own. He had an idea of what was about to happen, but his mind barely had time to process it before he felt a pair of lips ghost over his. He felt his breath hitch, and suddenly, Morrissey was kissing him. Johnny felt his back hit the car, as he began to kiss the other man back.

The kiss became more heated - Morrissey opened his mouth, and he couldn't help but notice how Johnny tasted like tangerines. He briefly wondered why that was. When they pulled apart due to burning lungs, the world seemed to have forgotten to continue on spinning once more. Morrissey's hands were placed on Johnny's hips, and he didn't even remember putting them there.

"You taste like tangerines," Morrissey blurted out; his mind devoid of anything smart to say.

Johnny blushed, "really? That's all you have to say?"

"Well, what else do you want me to say?" Morrissey asked, removing his hands from Johnny's hips, and instead placing them on his face.

"Tell me why you did that." Johnny smiled into the soft touch of Morrissey's hands, and perhaps he was more whipped than he previously thought he was.

Morrissey thought for a moment. "Because I adore you, very much so."

Those words had Johnny a mess on the inside - he felt as if he was melting. "You do?"

"Why would I lie?" Morrissey caressed the other man's face with his thumb, admiring how beautiful his eyes looked in the low light.

Johnny lifted a hand and brought it to Morrissey's face, almost hesitant. "Good point. Are you gonna kiss me again or are we just gonna stand here like this is some cheesy rom-com?"

"Definitely not the latter."

With that, Morrissey leaned in to kiss him again, and this time - it was sweet and slow. They pulled apart and couldn't wipe the stupid smiles off their faces to save their lives. The creepiness of the abandoned cemetery was long forgotten; the kisses they shared had masked over the paranoid thoughts.

On the drive home, Morrissey stuck his hand out the window, feeling the cool rush between his fingers. Beside him, Johnny was smiling, and Morrissey knew without even looking at him.


End file.
